Archives



Cootamundra Training Home

Cootamundra Training Home was established in a disused hospital building by the Aborigines Protection Board in 1911. It housed only Aboriginal girls, and was designed to train girls for domestic service. In 1940 its management passed to the Aborigines Protection Board. It continued as a girls’ home for Aboriginal girls until it was closed in…

The Gables Residential Unit 101

The Gables Residential Unit 101, in Kew, opened in 1985. It operated on the same site as the former children’s Home, The Gables (1962-1985). The Gables Residential Unit was run by the Victorian government. It was a facility for teenagers. It closed in around 1992.

Silverton Shelter

Silverton Shelter was run by the State Children’s Relief Department as a remand home for children who had been charged with offences by the police and were awaiting court appointments or being sent to other institutions. The shelter operated out of the old Silverton Gaol, on Burke street, Silverton, about 20km from Broken Hill. It…

The Deborah

The Deborah, was a hulk (ship) anchored in Hobsons Bay. In July 1864 it became the colony of Victoria’s first Reformatory for Boys from the Industrial schools. By 1865, it accommodated 108 boys sentenced under the Neglected and Criminal Children’s Act of 1864. The Deborah was one of four ships used as reformatories or industrial…

Travancore

Travancore was established in 1933 in Flemington. It was a school and residential centre that housed and educated ‘mentally defective’ children up to the age of 14. Since 2009, the Travancore School delivers a number of programs to link the mental health and education sectors. Travancore was established in 1933, by the newly-formed Department of…

Royal Park Industrial School [Girls]

The Royal Park Industrial School opened in Parkville in 1875. It accommodated girls until around 1879 when the girls were transferred to the Industrial School at Geelong, and boys from Sunbury’s Industrial School came to Royal Park. At about this time the Industrial School became known as the Royal Park Depot. The Royal Park Industrial…

Hawthorn Youth Welfare Service

The Hawthorn Youth Welfare Service was established by the Victorian state government in 1970. It provided short term, non-residential care for approximately 100 14 -17 year old males each year. Young men were placed on probation to the Youth Welfare Service for six to twelve months. They attended the service under close supervision for three…

Western Youth Welfare Service, State of Victoria

The Western Youth Welfare Service (WYWS) was established by the Victorian government in Ascot Vale in 1975. It provided residence and support for about 200 young people every year. The WYWS included a hostel that helped prepare residents return home or to live independently. It also ran day and evening programs to assist young people…

Miralee Reception Centre

Miralee Reception Centre was established in 1963 as the ‘Mildura Reception Centre’, and renamed ‘Miralee’ in 1967. Miralee accommodated approximately 10 to 12 children up to 14 years of age. In 1980 the Department built a new ‘Miralee’ Reception Centre. The Mildura Reception Centre was opened in July 1963. In 1967 the centre was named…

Melbourne Youth Residential Centre

The Melbourne Youth Residential Centre is the sole facility providing custodial accommodation for remanded or sentenced young women (up to the age of 21) in Victoria’s juvenile justice system. The 30-bed centre also accommodates young men aged 10 to 14 years on remand or sentence by the Children’s Court to a Youth Residential Order. The…